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America proposes new US$103,265 H-1B visa fee, expanding charge beyond new arrivals
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Khushboo RazdanPublished: 3:00pm, 25 Aug 2026Updated: 3:08pm, 25 Aug 2026The US has proposed a new US$103,265 fee for H-1B visa petitions – a move that could ramp up the cost of hiring skilled foreign workers, with Chinese and Indian professionals particularly hard hit.It comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations, with visas already a long-running source of friction and Beijing stepping up efforts to attract global tech talent as competition intensifies between the world’s two largest economies.
The US Department of Homeland Security proposed the additional fee on Monday for every H-1B petition subject to the annual numerical cap of 85,000 visas. That figure includes the 20,000 visas reserved for people holding US master’s degrees or higher. Employers would pay the new charge when filing a petition, on top of existing fees.
Universities and certain non-profit or government research organisations would be exempt.
The new measure would also go further than an earlier one. A US$100,000 fee imposed by presidential proclamation in September 2025 mainly targeted new H-1B arrivals from overseas.
The US$103,265 charge would apply more broadly, including to cap-subject petitions filed for people already in the US seeking a change of status.
That means the new policy could have an impact on many international students working in the US under Optional Practical Training.
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